From New Year’s Day to season’s end, Virginia Tech’s basketball team went 1-17. During one particularly grim stretch, the Hokies lost four consecutive games by at least 20 points, each to an unranked opponent. A third straight last-place ACC finish was a given and cost coach James Johnson his job.

Bringing hope to such depths is difficult, but new big whistle Buzz Williams, only a month on the job, has managed. How that glimmer translates to next season’s record is anyone’s guess — not surprisingly, the history is mixed for ACC coaches who succeeded fired predecessors.

But through force of resume and recruiting, Williams, who guided Marquette to eight NCAA tournament wins in six seasons, has been a human defibrillator for the program.

Before signing with Williams and Marquette last fall, shooting guard Ahmed Hill of Augusta Ga., weighed offers from national-caliber programs such as Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Connecticut and Villanova.

Center Satchel Pierce from Saltsburg, Pa., wasn’t as widely courted but did, according to Rivals.com, receive offers from the ACC’s Pittsburgh and Miami before signing with Marquette.

That both are Virginia Tech-bound after visiting campus last weekend speaks to Williams’ salesmanship and the relationships he and assistant coach Isaac Chew, who accompanied Williams from Milwaukee to Blacksburg, forged with the young men.

Hill and Pierce figure to significantly upgrade a Hokies’ roster, even with the departure of promising freshman center Trevor Thompson, who transferred to Ohio State and former recruit T.J. Lang, who requested and received his release after Johnson’s firing.

Also, news broke Monday on Twitter that freshman forward Maurice Kirby, who redshirted this past season, is transferring to a Kansas junior college.

Transfers, releases and changes of heart are part and parcel of the scores of coaching changes that strike college basketball and football each year. Affected athletes absolutely should reassess, and coaches on the move absolutely need to mine their contacts from previous jobs.

When Tech hired Seth Greenberg from South Florida in 2003, one of his first moves was to court unsigned guard Zabian Dowdell, whom he had recruited for the Bulls. Dowdell signed with the Hokies and as a senior in 2007 made first-team All-ACC and led them to the NCAA tournament.

Virginia tight end Jake McGee committed to Richmond in 2009, but when Spiders coach Mike London left for U.Va., prior to signing day in early 2010, McGee reversed course and headed to Charlottesville.

Appalachian State released guard Devonte Graham from his letter-of-intent after firing coach Jason Capel, and Graham now is considering the likes of Kansas, North Carolina State and Virginia. Similarly, the Cavaliers await word from wing Marial Shayok, who visited Virginia before signing with Marquette and Williams.

Contrast the start of the Williams Era at Tech with Johnson’s stumble from the gate in 2012. Not that Johnson was to blame, but freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith’s transfer to Florida and recruit Montrezl Harrell’s defection to Louisville portended the program’s rapid decline. When Harrell in 2013 and Finney-Smith in ’14 became key players on Final Four teams, their departures became even more painful.

Virginia Tech has never reached a Final Four, and Williams has never coached in one. But two seasons ago Williams had Marquette on the brink before an East Regional final loss to then-Big East rival Syracuse.

Williams’ five NCAA bids in six years with the Golden Eagles would jazz most any fan base. For a Tech program that’s been to two NCAAs in the last 25 seasons, that twice in the last 15 years hired a career assistant (Ricky Stokes and Johnson) to lead the program, Williams’ credentials are rare air.

In an ACC that includes perennials Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Louisville and Pittsburgh, plus emerging Virginia, Williams’ challenge is, to be kind, considerable. Indeed, of the 15 coaches who took over ACC programs from deposed colleagues from 1990-2013, I’m not sure any faced longer odds.

Six of the 15 — Robinson, Donahue, Johnson, Virginia’s Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao and Wake Forest’s Jeff Bzdelik — eventually were excused.

Proven at previous jobs, Gary Williams (Boston College, Ohio State) and Roy Williams (Kansas) were perfect hires for their respective alma maters, Maryland and UNC, and each subsequently earned induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Also from that group of 15: With two NCAA appearances in the last three seasons and 2014 ACC regular-season and tournament titles, Tony Bennett has Virginia better positioned than at any time in the last 20 years. Sendek, Oliver Purnell at Clemson and Leonard Hamilton at Florida State proved sage choices, with each reaching at least three consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Buzz Williams took Marquette to five straight NCAAs. The Hokies’ longest streak is two, 1979 and ’80, 1985 and ’86.

College basketball collectively swooned Friday night when Virginia Tech hired Buzz Williams as its head coach, and here’s why: Williams created more national splash in six seasons at Marquette than the Hokies have in 106.

Little about Virginia Tech’s season suggests the Hokies can upset Virginia on Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena. They are 0-10 on the road – Texas Tech is the only other power conference team yet to prevail on an opponent’s floor – and the last three have been by at...

BLACKSBURG – Gradually the contenders have faded. First North Carolina, then Louisville. Most recently, Notre Dame. But one rival stubbornly and relentlessly chases front-running Virginia as the Cavaliers aim for a second consecutive outright regular-season ACC basketball title.

Fundraising is usually a subtle science. You identify targets quietly, massage them in small groups and close the deal in private. Gourmet eats, vintage grape juice and designer attire often are involved.